


Promise Me

by skiggss



Series: karlnap oneshots [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Death, Kissing, M/M, Slight Mention of Blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:00:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29689872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skiggss/pseuds/skiggss
Summary: Karl disappeared most days.That was normal. As long as Sapnap knew he’d be safe, it was fine. Karl was his own person, he could do what he wanted.Sometimes Karl would return with a gift for Sapnap. One time it was a fully enchanted netherite sword, sharpened and everything. When Sapnap asked where he got it, he shrugged it off by saying, “it was just sitting there.”Another time, Karl brought home stacks of gold. Sapnap remembered the pure joy on Karl’s face; in his eyes with the way they scrunched up slightly and his grin. Sapnap gawked at just how much gold he’d brought home—and how—but again, Karl wouldn’t say where he found them. He probably stole them, knowing Karl.It was a particular set of days that Sapnap got a little too curious as to where Karl went. Usually, Karl would leave for three to five days, then return being tired as ever.It was now day nine of no Karl.Sapnap notices Karl has gone missing.
Relationships: Karl Jacobs/Sapnap
Series: karlnap oneshots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2181855
Comments: 2
Kudos: 39





	Promise Me

Karl disappeared most days. 

That was normal. As long as Sapnap knew he’d be safe, it was fine. Karl was his own person, he could do what he wanted. 

Sometimes Karl would return with a gift for Sapnap. One time it was a fully enchanted netherite sword, sharpened and everything. When Sapnap asked where he got it, he shrugged it off by saying, “it was just sitting there.”

Another time, Karl brought home stacks of gold. Sapnap remembered the pure joy on Karl’s face; in his eyes with the way they scrunched up slightly and his grin. Sapnap gawked at just how much gold he’d brought home—and _how_ —but again, Karl wouldn’t say where he found them. He probably stole them, knowing Karl. 

It was a particular set of days that Sapnap got a little too curious as to where Karl went. Usually, Karl would leave for three to five days, then return being tired as ever. 

It was now day nine of no Karl. 

Karl was nowhere to be seen. Sapnap asked around; to Quackity, who was too caught up in his own business schemes to give a damn; to Bad, who had too much drama surrounding the Egg to even spare a glance; and to George, who, for all Sapnap knew, spent his days locked into Kinoko Kingdom’s library trying to figure out a way to get Dream out of prison. The poor guy was going mad.

None of them knew where he was.

Sapnap took it upon himself to search for Karl. He wrote down a number of places where Karl actively spent his time. The first being Party Island.

The first thing Sapnap noticed was the red vines slowly, but surely, creeping their way in the direction of Party Island. Sapnap frowned, knowing just how important this island was to Karl. He built it to welcome Pokimane to the Dream SMP, just trying to gain more friends and make people feel welcomed.

He was good at that. His bubbly personality and high energy made it easy for people to ease into friendships and bounce off of him with jokes. Sapnap always adored that about the brunet. The raven haired male smiled to himself, remembering the sound of his contagious laugh. He missed it.

To his disappointment, Karl was not at Party Island. He was met with a dying spruce tree, the leaves stale and broken beside the roots. It looked like this place hadn’t been visited in years, though it had only been a few months.

The dance floor was ruined. The lamp post was knocked over, the lamp having shattered, pieces of glass laying between the unkempt grass. The fireplace had long gone out, instead lying with a stillness that made Sapnap’s skin crawl. It was unsettling, to say the least.

Sapnap kicked a clump of dirt that had been ripped from the ground, an uneasiness churning in his stomach. Karl would hate to see Party Island like this.

Next, he tried Party Park. It was a bit ghoulish there, giving off creepy abandoned circus vibes. The rollercoaster no longer bustled with life like it once had. The llamas in the carts were gone—he’d be damned if Sapnap knew where to—leaving the carts stilled at the beginning of the ride. 

The flooring was scuffed, the color faded with time. Sapnap really didn’t understand just how fast this place seemed to grow old with such little time. Karl’s statue had an odd water damage to it, making it look like he had tears streaming down his face.

Sapnap’s heart ached. How did this place stoop so low? Why was nobody here to take care of it? Maybe Sapnap could surprise Karl by fixing it up…

He looked towards the Kissing Booth, feeling a slight giddiness erupt in his chest. There, Karl and Sapnap had shared their first kiss. The place looked nothing like it used to—the walls were ripped and the structure was drooping. 

It still held the same wonderful memories, nonetheless. Sapnap remembered glancing over at Karl’s sparkling violet eyes, a new shyness overtaking his usual cocky attitude. He reached for Karl’s hand, fingers slotting perfectly into the other male’s, and leaned in. Their lips connected in one of the best kisses Sapnap has ever had in his life—no, not one of the best, _the_ best. 

Exhaling, Sapnap chewed on his lip to restrict his grin. Not the time. He needed to find Karl. 

Just as Sapnap walked down the eerie Prime Path, a weird growth in the entrance of a hidden building caught his attention. He recognized the building as Karl’s old library. Sapnap never knew the significance of the library to Karl—but he knew it meant a lot to him. 

Wincing at the twisting red vines invading the space, Sapnap pushed through into the small shack. Spider webs occupied the corners as well as dust bunnies. The place had a faint smell of lavender. It reminded Sapnap of Karl because, well, this _is_ Karl’s old library. 

The red vines hugged every surface of the small room except for one specific bookshelf. Sapnap chuckled to himself. Good thing he wasn’t a complete nimrod, or else he would have missed this secret entrance. 

Carefully, he stuck his calloused fingers in the small gap between the bookcase with no vines on it and the bookcase beside it. Gritting his teeth, he struggled to pull them apart. His breath caught in his throat as it opened to a nearly empty square room. Shelves lined the sides and red vines began making their way inside. 

Sapnap stepped inside the cool room, taking note of the blue lanterns hanging from the stone ceiling. He shuddered, carefully dragging his fingertips on the dark oak shelves. He stopped in the back of the room, eyes falling on a spruce trap door. Karl hid things well, that’s for sure. 

Sapnap could feel his heart racing in his chest as a new feeling of anxiety washed over him. He wasn’t getting good vibes from this at all. But he needed to find Karl. 

Hesitantly, he leaned down and clasped the handle to pull open the trap door, gasping as it revealed a ladder (that looked really unsafe, he noted) down to pitch blackness. Without another thought, and his heart racing in his chest, he cautiously got onto the ladder and began lowering himself. 

_I should have brought a flashlight,_ he slightly panicked, realizing he had no way to tell where the floor was. Well, until his black boot hit the harsh stone floor. If it was cold in that room above, it was absolutely freezing in this cave.

His heart pounded hard underneath his sternum. His hands shook as the hairs on his forearms and back of his neck rose. His throat felt like it was closing in on itself. 

He isn’t afraid of the dark, so why is he reacting like this?

A small flash of teal colored light caught his attention. Swiftly, he maneuvered through the dark cave, careful as to where he was putting his foot. Footstep after footstep, his anxiety worsened. 

His eyes landed on a purple shoe. He froze.

It took him a moment to process what was happening. His heart dropped into his stomach, the feeling of vomiting coming onto him strongly. He took in the sight in front of him, eyes wide and face pale, completely glossing over the purple and teal portal, swirling loud and proud. 

In front of him, the figure lay flat on their stomach, arm outstretched to a journal, the other resting with a quill in hand. The figure wore a discolored block hoodie and jeans. The figure had a satchel hung loosely around its torso. The figure had curly brown hair covering its eyes. The figure had parted lips, dry blood lined down to its chin. The figure had pale skin. The figure lay, unmoving. 

The figure—no,

“ _—Karl!”_ Sapnap rushed forward after being glued to his feet in pure terror and disbelief, because this wasn’t— _isn’t_ —real. It can’t be, it can’t be.

“Karl, baby,” Sapnap shouted and dropped to his knees with a loud and echoed _thud!_ Pain shot up his legs but he could care less. Frantically, he patted up Karl’s arms and back, trying not to think about how _cold_ he was, trying not to think about how his chest wasn’t moving. 

“Karl, Karl, wake up,” Sapnap pleaded, tears brimming his eyes. His heart was breaking, breaking in ways he didn’t know it could. He gave a weak chuckle, a forced one, “funny prank, Karl. Wake up, come on.”

Karl didn’t respond. 

Sapnap cupped his face, a sob wracking his body as he moved his perfect curls out of the way of his eyes. Staring at nothing, nothing at all, were Karl’s glossed over violet eyes. Lifeless. Dead.

“No, no, no, no,” Sapnap grabbed Karl’s face harshly, leaning down to him closer, as if that would do something. “Karl, wake up, come on. It’s not-” he gasped for air, “it’s not funny.”

He reached for the journal, grazing over the title.

_The Quest of Norbury_

_A group of fairies living in the depths of the thick woods. The threat of neighboring humans, looking for more land and resources, leading to the loss and gain of—_

The ink stuttered, slicing a straight line to the edge of the page. Sapnap saw his tears staining the cream colored pages, but that was the last thing on his mind. His thumb ran over the delicate strokes on the page, his lower lip quivered. 

“Karl…” Sapnap let his hand fall, the sound of the journal’s leather back plopping onto the floor bounced off the cool stone walls. Sapnap wrapped his arms tightly around his lifeless lover, denial and the truth fighting bitterly in his heart and mind. His broken cries could be heard throughout the cave as he burrowed his face into Karl’s exposed neck. 

It felt wrong not feeling a pulse. It felt wrong not feeling his throat rumble with laughter. It felt wrong, it felt wrong, it felt _wrong._

Why Karl? What did this beautiful, loving, angelic human being do to deserve such a horrid death like this? So young, too. Sapnap didn’t want to think about the possibility of him never searching for Karl, never finding answers, _never—_

He squeezed his eyes shut, struggling to inhale Karl’s scent. His lungs felt as if they were being compressed, restricting his breathing so that maybe, just maybe, Sapnap could die here, too. It’d be beautiful in the most morbid way possible; dying while holding his already dead lover in his arms.

Sapnap finally pulled off, cupping Karl’s face—stripped of life, replaced by an oddly serene expression. He noticed the tear tracks from his eyes, the crease between his eyebrows, the slight frown that tugged his lips downwards. 

Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself, Sapnap bent down and pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head, relishing the feeling of his curly brown locks tickling his own stubble-covered chin one last time. He lingered there, tears streaming down his cheeks, heart breaking into millions of tiny pieces. 

When he opened his eyes, he was met with a pale white floor beneath him. Karl still lay limp in his grasp, curled bangs falling off his forehead to reveal more of his face. Sapnap’s eyes widened at the sudden change in scenery; the place was beautiful. 

_Is this heaven?_ Sapnap questioned to himself, in awe of his surroundings. White leaved birch trees lined the lively green grass, flowers and shrubbery adding to the setting. He stilled once he noticed movement from the corner of his eye.

“Sapnap,” the familiar voice brought even more tears to the aforementioned’s eyes. Sapnap jerked his head in the direction of the voice, eyes widening as he stared at the male. 

Karl stood with his hands tucked into his white hoodie pockets, eyes shining with a foreign emotion and underlying sadness. He was alive, in the flesh, everything the Karl in Sapnap’s arms wasn't. 

“K-Karl?” Sapnap whispered, grip tightening on the still body in his arms. 

“Sapnap,” Karl spoke again, voice soft, “it’s time I told you something.” 

Sapnap swallowed, brows furrowed in confusion. He gently rested the body in his arms to lay on the glimmering white marble floor beneath him and pushed himself to his feet. He wobbled a bit, but was steadied by Karl’s hand on his shoulder. It felt cold, unlike Karl’s hands before. Sapnap shivered.

“Walk with me,” he murmured, taking a hold of Sapnap’s free hand. Their fingers laced together, the feeling odd and unfamiliar to Sapnap’s larger hands. Sapnap followed wherever Karl took him, as he always did. He could never tell Karl no.

He had many questions running through his mind, but asked none. They passed through many corridors, taking tons of twists and turns until, eventually, they walked out to one of the biggest trees Sapnap had ever seen. 

The thick birch tree’s roots twisted and rooted into the water beneath it. The branches were covered in thick white, translucent leaves that flowed easily in the breeze. The water glistened under the setting sun. 

Karl sat on one of the roots and patted the spot beside him. Sapnap obliged hesitantly, staring in wonder at everything around him—especially Karl himself. Wasn’t he dead? What was this place? Why is he here?

“Sapnap,” Karl began, the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips, “I wanted to apologize.”

“For what?” Sapnap’s voice broke as he searched his deceased lover’s gaze. 

“I never told you what I was doing. The reason I died,” Karl’s eyes dropped as he stared down at the water, swinging his feet loosely. He took a deep breath, “I- I never finished what I was doing, either. I still have so much more to do.”

“What…” Sapnap reached for Karl’s hand again, “what was it that you have to do?”

“Make things better,” Karl met Sapnap’s gaze, “learn about the past, the present. Learn about as much as I can and spread the stories. Try to change things that...need to be changed.”

Sapnap bit his lip thoughtfully. Change things?

“In short,” Karl chuckled breathlessly, “I time traveled. The journal you saw—I had returned from a place called Norbury. I’ve been time traveling for a while, Sapnap, and...I didn’t take care of myself. I didn’t listen to the signs. You saw it yourself.”

Sapnap nodded, remembering the times Karl would return from unknown places—still unknown to Sapnap—looking like a wreck. His hair would be ruffled, under eyes dark with bags, face paler than usual. He’d sometimes forget Sapnap’s name, or call him a different one. It made a bit more sense now. 

“Is that why you…” Sapnap slightly squeezed Karl’s hand, “you would call me other names.”

Karl huffed a small laugh, “Sapnap, I would like to ask something of you.”

“Anything,” Sapnap leaned closer, wanting nothing more than to take Karl into his embrace and never let go. He didn’t want to leave. He didn’t want to go back to the lands of the Dream SMP and be alone. 

“I want you to spread the stories I couldn’t,” Karl rested his cheek on the top of Sapnap’s head. Sapnap bit back a cry, a protest of, _“no, don’t go!”_

“For me, I want you to take what you can of my journals and diaries and spread them to current and future members,” Karl mumbled, voice laced with hope and admiration. “Promise me that?”

“Yes,” Sapnap mustered out, desperately trying to ignore the building need to cry, “yes, my love. I will.”

“Then it’s time you return back, Sapnap,” Karl said softly, slipping off the branch with ease. 

“But-”

“-Come on, Sapnap,” Karl pulled Sapnap off smoothly, words kind, “you have to go back. You don’t belong here.”

“I-” The words died in his throat as he followed Karl back to where they first found each other. His heart was throbbing again, somehow hurting more even after being able to say goodbye to his lover.

Karl stopped them a few feet from his own body, pulling him into a tight embrace, “I love you, Sapnap,” he placed a kiss onto Sapnap’s temple, “don’t forget that. I love you.”

“I love you too,” Sapnap forced his eyes shut, finally letting the pent up tears loose. He could feel it, he could feel Karl’s cold presence slowly disappearing, instead being replaced by the sound of a portal and dark cave walls.

Sapnap pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes, crying loudly. He knew nobody could hear, and even if they could he didn’t care. He wanted Karl back, he wanted him back so _bad._

_“Don’t forget…”_

A shiver ran down Sapnap’s spine at the ghostly voice in his ear. Through his tears, he began picking Karl’s lifeless body up. His knees felt weak as he walked up the cave to the ladder. His trembling hands could barely grab onto each step as he went up.

The cold room was somehow colder as he walked through, the stupid red vines taking more and more of the room up. He felt claustrophobic in the small space as he pushed through, clumsily tripping over his own feet. 

His feet carried him in an unknown direction.

Karl’s funeral was small. Sapnap told off anyone who couldn’t care less to be there. The only people there were George, Quackity, Bad, Puffy, Foolish, Hannah, Tubbo, Callahan, and Ranboo. 

They stood around his grave, fresh dirt packed tightly on top of his coffin. He was buried under the mushroom tree in Kinoko Kingdom. _He would have wanted this._

“I miss him,” George’s broken voice only added to the pain in Sapnap’s heart. Not only has he lost his soulmate, but he’s lost his best friend too. Sapnap exhaled slowly, a silent agreement to George’s statement.

The sun casted orange and red rays over the landscape. Sapnap stood as people slowly dispersed. His eyes were unfocused, locked on some blade of grass that was longer than the rest of the grass. His cold, hard stare masked his emotions. 

“You gonna be okay?” Quackity asked, placing a firm hand on Sapnap’s shoulder. The raven looked up but didn’t say anything. Quackity sighed, “I’m here for you, man. So is George.”

“I know,” Sapnap muttered, “thanks.”

Once everyone had left, Sapnap took a seat next to the grave, his back against the thick trunk of the mushroom. He counted the stars, counted the number of times a cricket made a noise, counted the number of zombies he saw trudging in the distance. 

He didn’t move for hours. 

“I’ll pass them on for you, Karl,” Sapnap promised in a barely audible tone, his voice carrying along with the wind, “I’ll pass the stories on for you.”

**Author's Note:**

> <3
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/skiggswastaken)


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